A disturbing question hangs over the shooting death of New Orleans Police Officer Daryle Holloway: How did the suspect he was transporting to Central Lockup get his hands on the .40-caliber weapon that killed the veteran officer? That is still under investigation, Police Superintendent Michael Harrison said Tuesday (July 7). But one of two officers who initially arrested suspect Travis Boys June 20 is
under arrest himself,
accused of taking a box of .40-caliber bullets at the scene and never processing it into evidence.

Officer Wardell Johnson, a 12-year veteran,
faces charges
of obstruction of justice, malfeasance in office and theft. He also is on emergency suspension.

Police Superintendent Michael Harrison said video evidence from police body-worn cameras show Officer Johnson "deliberately attempted to leave a .40-caliber casing on the scene" of Travis Boys' arrest on an aggravated assault call. The officer also kept a box of .40-caliber bullets given to him there and, according to court records, lied to Public Integrity Bureau investigators at least twice about that evidence.

At a press conference, Superintendent Harrison said: "As your chief ... as a member of this community, I can't begin to tell you how disgusted, frustrated and appalled I am" by the conduct of Officer Johnson.

It is appalling. Police say that Officer Johnson not only hid crucial evidence, he also threw the box of bullets into a canal Monday (July 6) when he realized Public Integrity Bureau investigators were onto him.

NOPD was still looking for the box of bullets Tuesday afternoon and was working with the Sewerage & Water Board to drain water out of the canal to help with the search.

Superintendent Harrison emphasized the department has no evidence that Officer Johnson knew Travis Boys planned to escape or aided him in doing so.

But the superintendent also said the videotape of Officer Johnson frisking Mr. Boys after his arrest for allegedly firing a gunshot at his wife shows the search "was not thorough, and was not consistent with our training."

Hours after that arrest, the suspect was handed off to Officer Holloway for the trip to Central Lockup at Orleans Parish Prison. They never made it.

Police say Mr. Boys slipped his handcuffed hands from behind his back and shot Officer Holloway through the partition between the front and back seats of the Police Department SUV. The wounded
officer tried valiantly
to stop Mr. Boys' escape, but he wasn't able to do so.

The gun used to kill Officer Holloway was a .40-caliber, not the .38-caliber weapon collected at the Boys' home, police have said. Officer Holloway's service revolver was still in his holster when he died.

Travis Boys' wife had told police that her husband fired a shot at her from a .40-caliber handgun. Officer Johnson was given the box of bullets for that gun. A spent .40-caliber casing was found near the front porch of the house next door. Officers reported confiscating a .38-caliber gun belonging to the wife and five live .38-caliber rounds, but not the .40-caliber weapon.

A few hours later at the 5
th
District station, Officer Holloway volunteered to take Mr. Boys to OPP.

It is unclear whether Officer Johnson's unprofessionalism put Officer Holloway's life at risk. But the accusations against him are egregious: Stealing evidence and then throwing it away to cover his misbehavior.

While the city and his fellow officers mourned Officer Holloway and tried to figure out the events leading to his death, Officer Johnson apparently said nothing about the pilfered evidence. What kind of police officer behaves that way?

"We're not going to stand for it," Superintendent Harrison said Tuesday. "There's no place for him or anybody else like him" on the NOPD. There is no doubt about that.